Satoya was sitting against a wall within a room littered in documents, the documents were too old to be legible, presumably because they are likely decades to centuries older than he is. He was, if speaking honestly to himself, unsure on what to do from this point onwards. He drew his finger on one of the many dusty records, raising the finger to observe the pale dust on the fingertip.
He hoped Yurina was alright, despite the suspicion that she had ill intentions toward him. However, something in his mind was telling him to leave the topic of Yurina alone. It was unexplainable, no matter how hard he tried focusing his concern on the whereabouts of Yurina, his thoughts would be forcefully pushed to a different thought entirely. Then, finally he looked up to see snow-white words levitating in the air before him.
….Perhaps, ignorance is bliss?..
Upon reading that message, there was a sensation of relief in his chest, as well as something warm burrowing out of the ground beside him.
It was a flower, Satoya didn't recognize the flower at all, but the edges of the petal was yellow with it slowly darkening into an reddish orange color as it went to the center.
"I see, so the Sovereign Mother does continue nurturing her children?"
Satoya tilted his head away from the flower, watching Roland approach him calmly. He curled his lips into a smile, "you'll be liberated remarkably early, so.. Allow me to speak to you one last time."
"Are you going to—"
Roland raised his hand, interrupting his sentence.
"I'd like to show you something."
It felt like time passed quickly, before Satoya and Roland found themselves walking within a massive garden, where countless pillars of some sort of metal protruded from the ground. Throughout the garden were puddles of water that exposed roots as if they were veins of the earth. In the middle of the massive garden was a small staircase made from the same material as the protrusions around the staircase.
They made their way to the staircase, with Roland calmly speaking to Satoya in a casual tone.
"I showed this place to Suya, a couple hours before her fate."
"Where are you going with this?"
Roland chuckled, as they both climbed to the top of the staircase.
At the top of the staircase was a platform with a floating shard of glass that appeared to distort the reality around it. Within it Satoya saw trees with trunks made of leaves, and the leaves were from entirely branches, then the shard began pulsating as if it was a live heart.
"Around 880 years ago, I met the Cataclysm of the 10th Disaster, the man whose own theory became the reason for the conclusion of the 10th Disaster, in this very place." Roland took the shard with his hand, examining it briefly before gently placing it inside his lab coat.
"Cataclysm of the 10th Disaster, Amadeus Magnus, was an interesting man, quite capable as well, however that finally gave me a realization." Roland turned back at Satoya, giving him an oddly serene look.
"Because I was never killed, that means any Cataclysm after me has an impartial resonance with the Inverted Needle."
"What does that mean?" Satoya questioned.
Roland let out a laugh, looking around the garden, even looking at a tree that grew out of the walls of the surrounding metal protrusions.
"Well, once I fall, that means the next Cataclysms will possess full resonance, with full resonance, they can cause irreversible damages to the world much like the Cataclysms before me, for instance, a man like Ebenezer, the Cataclysm of the 4th Disaster, a Cataclysm from nearly 9500 years ago. The world is funny isn't it? We are in the year 10025, yet humanity's technology never surpassed that of the 6th Disaster, would you like to know why? It's an obvious answer." Roland made a sly smile.
"Because Cataclysms always affect the world to such a global scale that humanity has no choice but to rebuild, and some damages are permanent. The Ruinscapes around the world are a notorious example of this, a simple barren wasteland holding no life whatsoever. Despite all of that, Cataclysms aren't the only reason.. It's humanity itself, uspeople, who are the sole cause of the stagnation in progression." He laughed once again, this didn't seem to shake him one bit, however this only made Satoya even more uncomfortable.
Roland started to approach Satoya, taking each step in a smooth motion before standing a couple feet away from him. "If I die, the next Cataclysm will possess complete resonance, if I still live, perhaps I'll try something I was always curious about, doing an act more heinous than what I had done before becoming Cataclysm during the 8th Disaster."
"Like what?"
An extremely familiar voice asked in an impatient tone behind Satoya, causing him to swiftly turn around, the one who spoke was Isaac, who quickly got to his side as Satoya watched in silence. Isaac took one brief look at Roland, dramatically turning his head to Satoya, he seemed extremely confused.
"What is he? One of those manipulator characters in those anime? Where the fuck did he get that lab coat? It's nasty, look at the red stains on the sleeves.." Isaac whispered.
Roland scoffed, he was annoyed with the presence of an individual he had no knowledge of.
"Who are you?"
"I ain't answering that, the fuck? Obviously you probably the guy you're talking to's name, so I'll apologize."
Isaac began approaching, patting Satoya on the back.
"This guy Satoya, if you don't know, is a dumbass, so whatever manipulation tactic you're using on him, is working pretty well." He was now before Roland, and as soon as he finished that sentence he swung his fist in a swift strike at Roland's face.
Unfortunately Roland moved to the side in anticipation, and behind him was there a boiling pool of red liquid. Within a second, a figure clad in Huangfun Khitan armor emerged, striking Isaac off the platform.
Isaac splashed into the puddles of the garden, tumbling before regaining his footing. He looked up watching the figure leap off the platform and landing in front of him, pointing its dao that crimson.
Satoya watched as this unfolded, and immediately unsheathed his katana at Roland. He somewhat realized that he was the only one who knew the man before him is incapable of being slain, however, if he chose to not fight, then he'd be letting Isaac die.. Well of course he knows Isaac can probably fend for his own, as the figure that appeared was similar to the one he had fought and barely won against, that entity with a deep red straw hat wielding a sanguine katana. He was fairly confident Isaac is still stronger than him, even if marginally, and had complete faith that Isaac can likely best the figure, so he gripped the hilt of the katana tightly, gazing at Roland intently.
Roland seemed to be amused, nodding his head as if he understood whatever decision Satoya had made. He held out his hand as if he was offering something, he then spoke.
"If you are so keen on guiding everyone, like you had said before, are you willing to go as far as to guide those Cervancidelian stains of the world? Are you willing to guide everyone with equal compassion and guidance?"
Satoya responded to that question quickly.
"I am."
Roland chuckled quietly, so quiet that no one around him, even the one in front of him could hear, finally making an affiliative smile.
"Well aren't you an inconsistent individual, then.. shall we fight again?"